


Don't You

by twilight_shades



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Captivity, Forgotten Stiles Stilinski, Kidnapped Stiles, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Nightmares, Pre-Slash, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 05:26:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15574755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilight_shades/pseuds/twilight_shades
Summary: Theo protects Stiles, but in a very Theo-ish way.





	Don't You

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Do not own. Complete fiction.

Stiles yells out his frustration as the ropes and chains binding him refuse to budge. Dammit, he’s trapped here and doesn’t know what’s going on back home. Damn Theo and his kidnapping ass. And really, what was Liam thinking, bringing Theo back? Stiles is starting to seriously consider that the reason Scott doesn’t like killing their evil enemies is because they’re crap at it. How many of them have come back or not died when they should have?

Stiles studies the ropes and chains for the umpteenth time and as much as he wants to get out of them, he’s weirdly flattered by them. Theo has been keeping him chained the whole time and then tying him up with ropes when Theo sleeps or leaves – like he believes that Stiles would find a way to escape the chimera otherwise. 

There’s a thump and then footsteps and Theo is opening the door, rubbing at his eyes. He looks at Stiles and sighs, like Stiles is the problem here. “You’re going to hurt yourself.” He comes over and unties the ropes, leaving Stiles in just the chains.

“You could let me go.”

“You would just run right back to Beacon Hills,” Theo says casually, like they’re talking about the weather. 

Stiles scowls. It’s been driving Stiles up the wall that no matter what he says to Theo, he’s met with either good humor or equanimity. “Yeah. Because that, that… thing is running loose, causing hallucinations, and I want to help figure what it is and how to stop it before more people hurt each other. It’s going to bring people’s worst nightmares to, oh, oh.”

“What?”

“You’ve got to call them, call Scott, call my dad, tell them it could be a mare.”

Theo’s brows go up. “A mare?”

“A kind of evil spirit. Call them.”

“Uh, yeah, even if I do call them, they probably wouldn’t believe me, between my past and the paranoia it’s causing. And they don’t remember you, so I can’t tell them I got the information from you.”

That’s probably true. The paranoia is rampant and nobody except Theo remembers him. Except… “Call Peter.”

“Peter,” Theo says sourly, finally seeming a little less sanguine.

“Yes, Peter.”

“Why?”

“If you remind him, he’ll remember me.” If you say Stiles’ name a few times or if Peter sees Stiles, Peter remembers him. It doesn’t stick, but Peter will remember long enough to look something up and once he does that, he’ll at least let Malia know.

Theo considers him, then goes and gets his phone. Stiles is surprised. “Voicemail,” Theo says, but relays what Stiles says. Theo hangs up and says, “Doubt he’ll even listen to it, but maybe I can try again later.” Theo catches Stiles’ eying him and asks, “What?”

“Why are you doing this? Keeping me here?” Stiles asks, hoping this time to get a real answer.

“Stiles, I’m doing this to protect you,” Theo says patiently, like he’s been saying all along.

This time, though, Stiles doesn’t just hear Theo, he _listens_. And he thinks maybe he believes Theo. Stiles doesn’t necessarily believe that he needs protecting, but he thinks that maybe Theo believes that Stiles does _and_ that this was the best way to do it. “But, why? I mean, why do you want to protect me? What does it get you?”

“I like you, Stiles.”

“Well, you seemed to like Scott and then you tried to kill him. And, presumably, you liked your pack and you killed most of them.”

“I had nothing really against them, but no. They were a way to get what I wanted, what I thought I needed. I had opportunities to kill you and cover it up or manipulate things so you would have been killed by someone else or just so you would have died. But I didn’t, even though that probably would have made things easier for me. I like you, Stiles.”

It’s a revelation - Stiles finally understands what Theo’s been saying. “Oh my god, you have feelings for me!”

Theo just looks at Stiles like Theo thought he’d been obvious.

Stiles tries to adjust his perspective of Theo, thinking about everything through that lens. “You’re really messed up, dude.”

Theo just nods, unconcerned, like he’s aware and has accepted it.

Stiles doesn’t understand how that works, but it’s not like he isn’t somewhat messed up. But if Theo _likes_ Stiles, wants to protect him, maybe Stiles can figure something out here so that he isn’t being held captive, restrained in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. “What if I said you could be my bodyguard?”

Theo gives him a curious look.

“You could stick with me if there was something dangerous around. Keep me from getting hurt. I mean, the reason you brought me here was because I wasn’t listening to you, wasn’t keeping myself safe.”

Theo frowns. “What if I think it’s too dangerous?”

“If Scott and my dad agree it’s too dangerous for me, then I’ll agree to go somewhere safer. Or if they are, um, compromised and they think Melissa should be somewhere safer, then I’ll go. But, really, if it’s that dangerous, I think I’ll want _everybody_ someplace safer.”

Theo looks like he’s actually thinking about it.

“You have to know this isn’t a sustainable solution, right? And what about the others? What about my dad? What about Liam? You’re kind of… fond of him, now, right?”

“You would let me stay with you?”

Stiles nods.

“You would listen to me?”

“Well, I would try to. Not always the best at that. But just because I will try to listen, that doesn’t mean I’ll always agree with you. You can be wrong, you know.”

Theo concedes that with a nod. “You wouldn’t try to get rid of me?”

Stiles can’t believe he’s agreeing to it, but needs must. “Not unless you were a danger to someone I cared about.”

“You are stubborn and reckless. You take risks you shouldn’t.”

Stiles shrugs. “I got to be me.”

Theo snorts. He peers at Stiles and asks, “You aren’t lying, but what if you change your mind?”

“I might. But, you really think this is a better solution? You really think I won’t find a way out of this?”

Theo sighs, like it’s Stiles who is being unreasonable, and walks out of the room. He’s back a few moments later and this time he has keys. He leans over Stiles and unlocks the cuffs. 

Stiles rubs at his free wrists and smiles.

Theo studies him and says matter-of-factly, “If you get yourself killed, I will go on a rampage. And your family and friends may not survive it.”

Stiles looks into Theo’s eyes. “I believe you.” Stiles has really got to do some research into making sure dead things stay dead. Maybe he should just burn them to ash or something so they can’t come back. Though with his luck, they would probably come back as some sort of ash monster. He should go to Antarctica. There can’t be anything there, right? “Hey, do you know if there are supernatural beings in Antarctica?”

Theo blinks. “The Dread Doctors once mentioned they thought Akhlut might have ended up there.”

“Akhlut?”

“It’s like a whale-wolf.”

“Of course it is.”

Theo looks at him with a strangely fond smile. “Stiles, there’s no place you could go that the supernatural won’t find you,” he says chidingly.

“Are you talking about you or are you saying I’m some sort of beacon?”

Theo shrugs. “You have something, people notice, even if some can’t seem to appreciate it.”

Stiles thinks about Peter, about the nogitsune, about Malia, and then shakes his head. How does Theo do this to Stiles, somehow make him feel special and yet still remind him that he is not a priority to the people he cares about? It’s not like he doesn’t get how not important he is, otherwise he wouldn’t keep getting forgotten or left out or both. “Whatever,” he says a little bitterly.

Theo frowns at him. “I have never forgotten you. I will never forget you.”

“Sure.”

Theo crouches in front of Stiles, wraps his hands gently around Stiles’ mistreated wrists, looks directly into Stiles’ eyes, and says slowly and with lot of intensity, “Stiles, I will never forget you.”

Stiles swallows. “O-okay.”

~~~

Once they get back to Beacon Hills, Stiles finds Peter. And just like every time since this thing started, Peter stops and stares at Stiles for a few seconds.

“Okay, yes, you are once again aware of my existence, yay, um, I think it’s a mare.”

Peter blinks. “You think what’s a mare?”

“You know the whatever that’s been causing all the havoc.”

“I’m assuming you don’t mean some sort of horse.”

Stiles gives Peter an annoyed look. “No, German goblin thing, like brings nightmares, mare. It’s supposed to ride someone’s chest at night bringing bad dreams, but I think this one is doing it during the daylight, waking dreams. We just can’t see it. But everyone who’s been seeing really bad things, they-“

“Rub their chests and their breathing is constricted.”

“Yes!”

“Hmm, plausible. Well, we’ll have to figure out some way to see them or get them to show themselves,” Peter says thoughtfully. Then he turns to look at Theo, who’s been glowering at Peter the whole time. “Get yourself a guard dog, Stiles?”

“Yep,” Stiles says.

Both Peter’s and Theo’s attention turn to Stiles. Both of their gazes are assessing, but in different ways.

“I see,” Peter says, smiling slyly.

“Okay, you should go look into it. Maybe text yourself or write it down. I’m pretty sure it’s only me you actually forget and not information that I give you, but just in case,” Stiles says.

Peter’s not smiling anymore. “How many times have I forgotten you?”

“I don’t know. It happens whenever I’m out of your sight for more than a few minutes. My voice does seem to sort of work too, if I remind you on the phone a couple of times who I am, you’ll know for the rest of the conversation.”

“Do you know why?”

“Why you can remember me if I’m here and nobody else,” Stiles pauses, and looks at Theo, “almost nobody else does? Something to do with the whole Ghost Rider business, I guess.”

“Nobody else? Besides him?” Peter questions.

Stiles gives a tight smile. “Pretty sure that’s one of my worst nightmares.”

Peter looks contemplative. “Maybe not.”

“What?” Stiles asks incredulous. “Hello, kind of living it, here.”

“You may be living it, but it could be caused by others’ nightmares. Malia told me some things about when you were gone and forgotten before. This may be _their_ nightmare, shared by enough people to spread. And if that’s true, it probably hasn’t fully played out.”

“Huh,” Stiles says as he thinks about that. “What do you mean it hasn’t fully played out?”

“Well, in order for it to be a truly nightmarish situation, they would have to remember they forgot you and for peak angst, that would be only after something terrible happened to you,” Peter says matter-of-factly.

There’s a feeling of dread in Stiles’ stomach. “Suddenly, I am totally okay with it just being my nightmare.”

“Chest felt heavy? Felt short of breath?” Peter asks.

“No,” Stiles says bleakly.

“Nothing terrible is going to happen to Stiles,” Theo say flatly.

“Think you can stop it, mongrel?” Peter asks nastily.

“Better than you, old man,” Theo growls.

Both of their eyes start to glow.

“Uh, no. Nope, nope, nope. While ripping each other to pieces might be your idea of fun, I, for one have seen enough blood and gore for a lifetime. And the next one. And the one after that. So, no,” Stiles says.

“As you wish,” Peter says smarmily.

Stiles snorts as Theo rolls his eyes.

“I’m going to go find a way to look at what information I have on this thing without stirring up anyone’s distrust. I, we can track you down in a few hours, pool our resources, okay?” Stiles say to Peter.

“Fine. Watch out for yourself,” Peter says.

“Ah, Peter, do you care?” Stiles asks mockingly.

“There are very few in this town one can have an intelligent conversation with,” Peter says with a shrug.

Stiles very nearly smiles at that, but Theo’s watching them with narrow-eyed focus, so Stiles schools his expression. “Alright, then, see you later.”

“Until we meet again,” Peter says and saunters off.

~~~

It turns out though, as soon as other people see Stiles, they start to recognize and remember him. So, something must have happened to break that nightmare, even if Stiles isn’t sure what. Stiles is not complaining (well, okay, he is a little because he doesn’t understand why and that drives him up the wall) because it’s really nice to be hugged by his dad again and have his friends look at him with something other than suspicion. Stiles does get a lot of looks for letting Theo stay nearby without saying or doing anything. Which is when Stiles realizes that he and everybody else had kind of been playing a giant game of keep away with Theo, never letting Theo get too close – Stiles moving himself away, someone putting themselves in between Stiles and Theo if Stiles got too frustrated or Theo got too aggressive, or Stiles driving Theo out with his caustic and pointed words (Stiles isn’t honestly sure how that ever worked as Theo mostly doesn’t seem to care what vitriol Stiles throws at him). Theo’s presence is more or less accepted, but there’s not a whole lot of trust there, even when he proves helpful.

And finally, finally they figure out a plan for the mare. It’s not a great plan, but it’s not the worst they ever had, which is not really saying much. They use a sleep-deprived Liam as bait, the sleep-deprivation making him an easier target, his abilities and healing making him a tempting one. Corey is standing by to bring Scott and Lydia with him when he turns invisible. Possibly they’ll be able to see it then and Lydia will say a prayer that might hamper it, especially with a banshee’s power behind it, and then Scott is supposed to grab it and lock it away in a lead container Peter and Stiles cobbled together that they think may hold it, until it can be neutralized or something. But there is a lot of guesswork in the plan.

It goes sort of according to plan. The mare does go after Liam, his labored breathing making it evident, and Corey does his thing. But then just after Corey, Scott, and Lydia disappear from view, the mare suddenly becomes visible to everyone and lunges at Stiles. Theo nearly takes its head off as he wrestles with it while Lydia recites the prayer. Scott manages to get it away from Theo and put it in the container, where the mare thumps around for a few moments before going still and silent. Then everyone just sort of stares at Stiles and Theo for a bit.

Stiles claps his hands together. “Well, that was fun. Let’s never do it again.” And then he walks away. Theo catches up to him and walks beside him. Behind them, Stiles can hear a hushed conversation start up and he just barely hears his name and Theo’s. Stiles should probably stick around, but he’s tired and a little hurt and angry. He knows if he stays, he’ll likely say something vicious, which they don’t deserve, not really.

Stiles looks at Theo out of the corner of his eye and sighs heavily. “Thanks,” he says reluctantly.

“You sure do know how to make a guy feel appreciated,” Theo says with a smirk.

“Part of my charm,” Stiles says, unwillingly amused.

“Yes, it is.”

Stiles rolls his eyes, but doesn’t try to chase Theo off, even though they’ve taken care of the threat.

~~~

Things don’t actually go back to normal after that. Mostly because Theo is around Stiles all the time now and Stiles doesn’t try to get Theo to leave. And Stiles stops others when they try. Part of it is that it’s nice to have someone around that prioritizes keeping Stiles’ from coming to any harm. But that’s not the main reason since Stiles is used to watching out for himself. No, what really matters is that Stiles believed Theo when he said he wouldn’t forget Stiles. It means more than Stiles will ever say to Theo.

Of course, _everyone_ has an opinion about Stiles letting Theo hang around. Stiles mostly shrugs them off or turns their own words and actions around on them (Stiles had wanted nothing to do with Theo when he’d first showed up, been right about him being up to something, wasn’t the one who brought him back, wasn’t the one who’d accepted him into their numbers). He does try to explain to his dad and the conversation ends up with them both on the verge of tears. His dad doesn’t question it after that.

It takes much longer for most everyone else. Malia pretty quickly accepts it, after threatening Theo (she tells Stiles that she knows that he know exactly what Theo is capable of, so if Stiles is okay with it, she is too). Stiles wears the rest of them down through sheer stubbornness. He knows how to wield it like a tool. Okay, it’s basically a bludgeon, but that counts as a tool. Lydia is the last hold out – she’s almost as stubborn as Stiles, but eventually she sighs and accepts it.

It’s only after everyone accepts it that Stiles realizes. Stiles is in his room at his desk, Theo’s on his bed, doing something on his tablet. Stiles is idly reading about draugr in a bestiary, when Peter’s words come back to him. He starts laughing. 

Theo looks up and gives him a curious look.

“Apparently, you’re something terrible.”

Theo just raises his eyebrows.

“But I guess, this time, I’m kind of glad you happened to me.”

Theo looks at him for a moment, maybe trying to gauge his sincerity, and then Theo smiles, a soft, real smile.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you find any typos or if the format is messed up or if you think I need any tags.


End file.
